Whoa!

My apologies, blog readers! I guess I didn't realize people still read this thing! I got all caught up in life in America, and forgot about this blog!


So, I have come back up to Iowa City to finish up school. I moved into a sweet house this year with somewhere between 6-8 people living in it (people are coming and going here toward the end of the semester) . It pretty much rocks. We have parties and stuff sometimes.



This is our Halloween party. The king is one of my roommates, Brian, and I think the girl in the background is another one named Renee.


I also live with my landlord, Stevie (on the far right) who is a nurse, and her sister Tiffany (in the middle) who is a fitness instructor. They are the absolute sweetest people in the world!

Other than just hanging out and doing school stuff, I have been busy with Iowa football.
We had a lot of fun this year as the whole family came up to the last game, and the siblings, Mom, and Dad came up in different combinations all season. Not the best season we've ever had, but it's Iowa. You can't expect too much.

Of course I have been doing dumb things and having fun being silly as well. It's what keeps me going.

Sorry again for pooping out on the blogs! I will have to try and keep you all updated a little better.
Thanks for keeping up with me!!!

Mom and Jenny!!!!

Yay! Mom and Jenny came down a couple weeks to visit me in Tassie. It was so great to have them down and see them again! Their first day Slim and I picked them up from the airport, and we hung out all day, settled into their hotel, and walked around Hobart.

The next day the three of us and Courtney went on a tour of the Cadburry factory. We got a deal and took a boat cruise with lunch after the tour!

Then we went to an animal park the next day. It was really cool! We got to feed wallabies, kangaroos, emus and freaky ducks. AND we got to see Tasmanian devils and wombats!












We took a road trip (Mom, Jenny, Courtney, and I) to Port Arthur, one of the oldest penal colonies in Australia where we went on a ghost tour and toured the whole town the next day. We stayed in a really nice cabbin, and made pancakes for breakfast. This is Jenny and I in prison.

We also went to Richmond a couple times to see the Richmond Gaol (the oldest gaol in Australia still in its original state) and the oldest bridge in Australia. That is also where Slim and his brother, Danny, live; so we went down there a couple times to hang out with them.

Oh and we went to the Cascade brewery to go on a tour. Our tour guide was a Michael Jackson look alike. Cascade is the oldest brewery in Australia... how weird is it that everything we did included the oldest something in Australia... does that mean something?

At some point during all our fun I had my Indigenous studies exam. It went really well! I think. I felt really confident about it at least. Grades come in on July 16th, so I'll find out then.

And another time we went up to the top of Mount Wellington. It was all snowy. This is Mom and Slim on top of Mount Wellington. It was quite cold and windy!

We went out with Slim a lot. He had a couple gigs with his band (Full Tilt Boogie) that (I think) Mom and Jenny really enjoyed. Well, that is until we got kicked out for line dancing and buying water. No really, we got kicked out for exactly those reasons... I know. It's impressive.

And another time we went to the royal botanical gardens. This is Jenny eating a Fern in the royal Fernery.

Sorry this is so crazy. We just got in last night... well, I took a different flight rout home, so I got home at about 2:30am and Mom and Jenny got in about 8:30pm. I'm not all together yet. But if you really want a good detailed trip through Tasmania, check out Jenny's blog. She has some really good pictures and fun stories up. Go to jennyinanutshell.blogspot.com
Thanks for keeping up with me!

Tassie Road Trip

Phew! Finally a minute to sit down and breathe. Sorry I've been so slack on getting this post up. We got back from our road trip, and I had just enough time to wake up the next morning to go get Mom and Jenny from the airport. No time for computers until now!
Well, the road trip was a blast! We took off on Wed. afternoon around three o'clock and headed up to Queenstown. Erin (from Devonport, a town up north), Naomi (from Japan), Courtney (the Canadian), and I rented a little Nissan and headed out. We made it to Queenstown by about 8 or 9pm and got a really nice hotel room. It was like a full apartment (actually quite a bit larger than the apartment I lived in last year in Iowa City!). We made one-eyed monsters for breakfast before we checked out the train museum and took off for Straun. Courtney had fun stealing clothes from the mannequins, and I was hard at work on the rail road tracks! It was crazy because they didn't have anyone watching over anything in the whole museum; it was just open to the public- no cameras or anything.


Straun was beautiful! It is right on the west coast of Tasmania. We were a little disheartened when the fudge shop was closed, but we went on a small hike, enjoyed a local bakery, and hung out at the saw mill. I thought that was really cool because the guy that was running it had been working there since he was ten years old! The saw he used was over 100 years old, and took about 20 minutes to cut one log (which he cut especially for us).
Next we went to Roseburry for the night. It was a tiny little town (it had two streets coming off the main highway) between Straun and Cradle Mountain where we were planning to hike the next day. We got a little trailer to stay in (and since they don't believe in heating or insulation I woke up every hour with the shakes it was so cold!). We found the local bar which was quite happening... Here we are with the cook at the restaurant behind the bar. She actually bleached her hair every night before bed and re-died it in the morning with different wacky colors. We kicked up the juke box later on and definitely gave the whole town something to talk about for the next few weeks... we got a little wild, but what can you expect from four crazy girls?!

In the morning we loaded up for Cradle Mountain. We saw a place along the way that gave horse back tours around Cradle mountain so we stopped to check them out. The guy told us he'd be back in an hour, but when he got back (we were waiting at our car, eating some lunch- he drove right past us and waved on his way in) he took off with two horses and we didn't get to ride! We were very upset!! But climbing Cradle Mountain was a blast! It was incredibly beautiful, and we were SO lucky! Apparently Cradle mountain only has 50 clear days a year. I guess the mountain is always just covered in clouds (especially in the winter.... which it is now) but there was not a cloud in the sky all day! Oh yes, and Courtney got violently attacked by a crow... or some sort of big black bird. It was actually pretty scary.

So after a great hike we drove up to Devonport where we stayed a couple days at Erin's house. We all snuggled up and had a movie party the first night. We made pancakes in the morning and hung out on the beaches of the northern coast and climbed around on some rocks by the light house. Our second morning in Devonport Naomi made some home made doughnuts (yum!). From there we went to Launceston. That was a fun town! We stopped at the Harley Davidson store (the only one in Tasmania) but the store was closed for the holidays (the Queen's birthday). We were very upset at this, but the guy at the bar said that if we came back in a couple hours the shop manager would come in and we might be able to check out the shop. So Courtney and I dropped Erin and Naomi off in the city and went back. We got lots of Harley paraphernalia and ended up hanging out with Mark (the store manager) and the owner for hours. It was a blast!!
We were planning on heading to Maria Island the next day, but we missed the ferry and came back to Hobart early. Then Mom and Jenny came, and that is a whole other blog!!

Fisher Rugby!

Sorry it took me so long to get this up. My Internet ran out last Sunday, and I haven't been in Sandy bay during business hours for a week to get it turned back on. I should be good now until I depart Tassie though.

Last weekend was the big rugby weekend! We (John Fisher) played against Christ College. Unfortunately our rugby jumpers and shorts came in a week late; so, we looked like a bunch of bogans in our borrowed jumpers and mismatched shorts, (note the back of my jumper in the next picture - 1p) but we had an absolute blast!

Our girls' team had just enough girls to make a team, so we didn't have any substitutes when Tanya and Adelle got carried off the field. Christ had more than enough girls to make two full teams (why couldn't they just share?!), but for being only part of a team we put up one heck of a fight! We ended up losing by two tries, but we felt like we hurt enough Christ girls to feel victorious inside.

The John Fisher boy's team didn't have enough boys to play, so the game was forfeited a week before, but a bunch of the old boys came and played a game that was just for fun. The boys mopped the field with Christ. They played an awesome game, game and a great victory. It was a great day for sure! I felt really honored at the BBQ Sunday night after the game. I was awarded the 'Coach's Player of the Game ' metal. I thought that was really cool!
Of course there were a few boo-boos. But what would rugby be if no one got hurt?! I was a fortunate one who didn't get beat up too bad, but I bruised up my legs and back, and I buggered up my ankle a bit.

Well, this is the last week of classes. Man has time flown by down here! I don't think I'm ready to leave yet, but I guess I have a few weeks of hard work and tests left to change my mind about that still! Courtney and I are planning on taking a road trip around Tasmania next week. Hopefully that will be something worth another blog entry! Thanks for keeping up with me! I love getting comments from everyone on here!! Can't wait to see you all again!!!

Weekend in Melbourne

This weekend was absolutely fantastic! My mate, Slim and I went to Melbourne. We took off Thursday night for Launceston (a couple hours north of Hobart) and caught a flight to the mainland at 6 on Friday morning. We got to Melbourne and hopped a tram to St Kilda, a suburb featured in these first two pictures.
After a lovely breakfast (I had pancakes- SO good, and so rare in this country) we went to the beach where I saw a small field of Jellyfish. I started playing with them (only poking the tops) when I saw a HUGE jellyfish almost the size of a football. I played with it for a while and determined it would probably be best NOT to try and pick it up to throw at Slim. In the second picture you can see some of the dolphins jumping. There were dozens of them that went right along the coast line. It was so cool!

Friday night we went to a big place called the Crown. It was right along the river and had dozens of restaurants, a hotel, shops, and a casino that took 15minutes to walk across! Of course after our lovely Thai dinner we went to the casino and tossed away a few dollars, but between the two of us, we only wasted $8 in the penny machines.
Saturday was sweet! We got up and went to the Victoria market. It was really cool, but after walking down just two rows of stands we both realised how much lighter our wallets had gotten and how much stuff we had acquired; so, we took off to the train station. After a quick bite to eat we were off to the footie game! What a great experience!! The game we went to was an AFL (Australian Football League- it's Aussie rules football though, which is completely different from our football) game between Collingwood and Carlton. Those are the two most rivaling teams in the AFL so the air was tense, and the players were vicious! There was a HUGE fight after the first quarter amongst the two teams.
Adam, the young bloke in the picture here, said it was the worst fight he's ever seen in a footie game! Well, luckily, Collingwood (the team we were there to support) won, and we went to a bar for the rest of the evening to celebrate. There was a nice jazz band, and afterward we went back to Adam's where we were put up for the weekend. Our flight took off at 8:30am on Sunday, and we spent the rest of the morning driving back to Hobart. I spent the afternoon chilling with Courtney, and am still a bit wiped from the whole weekend.
Things with school are getting a bit hectic. I didn't realise until Thursday that I have a 2,000 word essay due on Friday, and I didn't find out the topic until today... whoops! I'll git 'er done though. We only have three weeks of class left and all of the projects (one for wood skills and four for audio recording) are looking a bit frightening being due so soon.
We have our first big rugby match against Christ this upcoming Sunday, and as a prop (the person who takes the ball first and whose job it is to bust through the defensive line) I am VERY excited to cream some Christ pigs (that is not derogatory, the pig is their mascot)!!!
Thanks for keeping tabs on me! I'll be sure to let you all know how the game goes! Wish me luck!

Back in Tassie

Not too much new is going on here in Tassie. Since we've been back it's pretty much been school work (yes I do do that every now and then... especially now that I have realised there are only a few weeks left in school and I haven't done my work yet) and hanging out. I had a few presentations this week in Audio Recording and Indigenous Studies that I think I did pretty well on, and we are finally starting to work with wood in woodskills.

I am on the John Fisher rugby team, and we have our first game against Christ College on May 20th. We've been training a few days a week for quite a while now, and I am absolutely in love with the sport! I find I am especially good at wiping people out. That is quite a bit of fun! Last Friday Courtney came to practice with me for a lack of anything better to do. It turns out Courtney enjoys hitting people just as much as I do; in one of the first tackling exercises she and the biggest girl on the team took me on, and quite effortlessly left me on the ground with a minor concussion. I played one more play before sitting out for the rest of the night... just long enough to come down on Courtney's head and give her a black eye. This picture is right afterward, but once she got up in the morning, it was a real shiner, and now, a week later, it's still all black and blue. I do enjoy pointing out my handiwork when we go places; I think it's something to be proud of... right?

I've been a bit under the weather this week. I missed a big blues fest that I really wanted to go to because I just couldn't get out of bed. But, I am doing a lot better now (so long as I carry a box of Kleenex and some throat lozenges and Tylenol).

Hopefully we'll get to go rafting again this weekend, otherwise I would like to go to a big Ag fest up north. I hope I'll have more news next time I write!! Thanks for checking up on me!

Kiwi Land!!!!

WOW! What a trip!! For Easter break Amanda (pictured on the left) Angie, Courtney, and I went to New Zealand for ten days (ok, it was a few more days than just Easter break...). We took a boat (where we are on the left) from Tasmania to Melbourne where we spent the day in some beautiful gardens. Then we hopped a plane to Aukland, New Zealand which is the biggest city in the country. It is on the north island and we were headed to the south island. We got in after midnight and our plane took off in the morning so...

We spent the night in the airport. Not much sleep there. At 4:30 the stores all opened and dozens of people began stopping to take pictures at the sight of four young girls all curled up together in sleeping bags on benches (is this not an every day sight?).

We flew to Christchurch in the morning, and as it was raining and we didn't know which direction to head, we ditched our plans to hitch hike, grabbed some maps and rented a car.

Katie the genius misunderstood what she was signing up for in terms of a hostel, so when we got to Queenstown we dropped Amanda and Angie off at their hostel and Courtney and spent the night outside of the Hippo Lodge in our car (most affectionately named "Crash Bandicute").

On Easter I played my first game of golf (who would have thought I would have to go to New Zealand for that?). I surprised myself and played very well! In the evening we caught a gondola up a mountain side and did some luging!

Here's Queenstown from the top of the mountain. For one of the biggest cities on the south island, being able to walk across the entire thing in fifteen minutes made me realise how rural New Zealand really is!

Monday was probably the best day we had! Courtney and I got a room in the hostel Sunday night, so we were ready to go when we had to get up at 7:30am to go skydiving! Talk about a rush!!! It was an absolute blast, and believe it or not, I NEVER felt scared! Just pure excitement!!

This is something that, though you may think it is silly and have absolutely no urge to do, everyone needs to try at least once! Angie really didn't want to do it, but as soon as she left the plane, she had the time of her life!!!

Well, Courtney and I ran back to the hostel after skydiving for a short nap before we headed up another mountain for a bit of hang gliding!

Talk about fun! It was so cool, we ran off the cliff, and after the guy showed me how to fly the glider, I got to fly it my self the rest of the time! It was a totally different feeling from skydiving. I think it was actually a bit scarier. It felt like I was just a human kite... and I have had many terrible experiences flying kites, so I think the feeling of nose diving (which we did in the beginning as a demonstration on how to steer) frightened me quite a bit.

The rest of the week was very tame compared to that. Tuesday we went on a bus/boat tour of a bit of the south island and Milford Sound (VERY beautiful- even in the rain). Wednesday we drove up to Mt Cook and stayed the night in a town called Twizel (very cute). Thursday we drove up to Fox Glacier and witnessed a life threatening bar fight (still a little shaken up from that one), and Friday we went on a day hike/tour of the Fox Glacier itself.

That was REALLY cool (pun intended)!!! We got to wear those spiky things you strap onto your boots, and they gave us big wool socks to tuck our pants into (way stylish) and we got big spiky walking sticks! It was so gorgeous.

So Saturday we spent driving to Christchurch where we were to take off from on Sunday. We spent a few hours hiking around the mountains where The Lord of the Rings was filmed, Mt Sommers. So it was pretty cool stuff all around.

The trip back was good, and we spent another night sleeping in the Aukland airport. That place is becoming so familiar I feel I could call it home!

It's good to be back in Tassie now though. I slept for 12.5 hours once I finally got in. I think it'll be a bit before I get back in the swing of things, but wouldn't it after a trip like that?!

Wineglass Bay

The past couple weekends have been fantastic! Last Saturday I went with Courtney and a group of Austrians (not Australians) to Wineglass Bay (about three hours northeast of here). We rented a big 12 passenger van and had a ball!





Here's Courtney and I at the Wineglass Bay lookout. It was about an hour hike up to this point, and well worth the view! -It was a bit of a dreary day, but it was still beautiful!










Here we are on the beach. We didn't know you could go swimming there, so we didn't bring our bathing suits, but the Austrians were fully prepared (why didn't anyone tell us what this trip was about? I had NO idea what we were going to do. So, I wound up hiking 4 hours up/down a mountain in those darn rubber crock shoes... I ended up barefoot).






I was quite excited when I got my first real wallaby experience. They are so friendly! We petted them and played with them... AND since there is no rabies in Australia, there is nothing to worry about with them! YAY!






Here's Courtney and I with 'Santa Fe', the only other person on the trip who wasn't speaking German all day!
(No Dad, that is not alcohol being consumed in the van... while we're driving.)






The Austrian gang coming back from their swim.













But, trips with large groups are always a little more difficult, and you don't always get to do everything you want to do. So, Courtney and I decided to go back this weekend with Slim. It was AMAZING! The weather was FANTASTIC- warm, sunny- couldn't have been better!





We decided instead of hiking up to the lookout this weekend, that we would find an even better view from an even higher point. After an hour of serious rock climbing and lots of cuts and scrapes, we made it up to a beautiful peak and a wonderful view!

...and if Dad is reading this... uh, we totally had safety equipment, and no one got hurt...






Here's Slim and Courtney after hiking up... I don't think they were too keen on the idea, as I called to them from the top and made them come up after me... I think they were content just going to the beach... sorry guys, but wasn't it worth it once you got up there?











And here's the gang hiking away! (this was before we went six and a half hours without food and had to hike back to the car in the dark... once again, my apologies, Courtney.)



So after climbing we decided to hit the beach. We had a great time climbing/sliding back down the mountain to the trail... I need new jeans if you want to send a pair, Mom. But the beach was fantastic!!!! The waves were HUGE and the water was warm. We spent a few hours fighting with the incoming tide (I lost that battle pretty bad a couple times and came out with a terribly bruised tailbone... ouch- not fun in the softball game today!) Then we decided to take the flat trail back to the car park, but the trail that goes all the way around the mountains... and we left right when the sun set, so it was a bit of a sketchy last half to that hike since we were in the woods in the dark... oh well, we made it!

Today was our softball game against Jane Franklin College. The first inning was ok, we were only down two, but then they scored about 15 in the next inning, and I think we all just lost hope. But, in defense of the team (sorry to our pitcher) they did score 10 of those runs because we kept throwing 4 balls and filling up the bases and walking everyone home.

Well, it's time for our cricket match against Christ College... has anyone ever watched that sport? Apparently it's an all day event. And in the pros they play for, like, five days (no seriously, I'm not exaggerating, it's a five day game)! Thanks for keeping up with me! It's great to hear from everyone back home!